Mapping Palestinian Cultural Resources in Jerusalem
Three Overlapping Aims
Cultural Mapping – collecting, recording, analyzing and synthesizing information in order to describe the cultural resources, networks, links and patterns of usage of a given community or group.
Resource Mapping – identifying and recording tangible cultural resources usually making use of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools and platforms.
Community Identity Mapping – exploring “intangible cultural resources”: the unique memories,
personal histories, attitudes, values and stories that honor the past, celebrate the present, and envision the future.
Process
Stage I – Planning
• Determining objectives with the community
• Obtaining buy-in from grassroots organizations and community leaders
• Identifying and assembling mapping resources – these can be human, financial or technical
Stage II – Project Design
• Designing the inventory
• Drafting survey questionnaires and interview questions
• Setting interim and final deadlines.
Fig. 1 - Public interface, showing the themes selected, and the organization of subcategories under each theme.
Artists, Dancers, Designers, Filmmakers,
Writers, Actors, Musicians, Producers
Cultural
Professionals
+
Practitioners
Arts, Heritage, Tourism,
Community Interest
Cultural
Organizations
Universities, Academic Organizations,
Educational Programs, Study Centers
Tertiary
Educational
Institutions
Palestinian Cultural
Resources in Jerusalem
Venues,
Facilities,
Spaces
Natural
+
Cultural
Heritage
Cultural + Community Spaces:
Museums, Theatres, Libraries, Galleries
Cultural
Industries
Artisans + Craftmakers, Craft Enterprises,
Advertising, Media Files, Bookstores
Parks, Views, Vistas, Historic Monuments,
Mosques, Churches, Hammams, Guest Houses
Stage III – Data collection
• Public announcement (newspapers, posters, radio and other media announcements)
• Broad-based internet research – community surveys
• Targeted research – interviews
• Assembling the inventory
• Taking stock
Stage IV – Synthesis
• Roughing out the map (text-based, web based and/or graphic)
• Analyzing the results
• Interpreting the results
• Fact-checking with the community
Stage V – Finalizing the Map
• Speaking to different audiences - This will be comprised of a wide cross section of municipal,
cultural, business and community representatives and interests.
Stage VI – Going Public
• Previewing the map
• Presenting the results to the target audience
Output from Mapping of Cultural Resources
• A Cultural Asset Inventory: Given the fact that the built heritage of Jerusalem is of “outstanding
universal value,” for project and budgetary reasons we will limit our scope to the Old City of East
Jerusalem. As we start the mapping, we will develop criteria in parallel which will allow us to refine
our selection to include a representative subset of the rich panoply of Palestinian cultural heritage
within the targeted boundaries.
• An Interactive Map: An interactive map will be created to display the data collected over the
course of the project. The map will serve as a gateway for organizations, businesses, community
groups and the public to easily identify and explore the assets. These will be based on a theme and
represented by a tear drop symbol, which is colour coded based on the East Jerusalem Cultural
Mapping categories and subcategories. Some of the tools developed for users of the map will
include: layers, a keyword search, information window, annotation and drawing tools, Google street
view (where possible), and social media sharing.
• Cultural Policy: The project will provide a broad framework to inform stakeholders, for problem
solving, planning support and cultural development.
• Workshops: Workshops will be held with all interested parties to learn more about the cultural
map, how it works, and how to sustain it.
• Final Cultural Mapping Report: The coordinators will complete a report entitled “Mapping
Palestinian Cultural Resources in Jerusalem.”